The electric Volkswagen Kombi hits Oz: First examples of all-new VW ID.Buzz EV lands in Australia to give families and businesses a fun electric alternative... eventually

Volkswagen Australia has taken delivery of its first examples of the new ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo, previewing what we can expect when they go on sale here eventually.

One example of each model, the passenger-focused ID.Buzz and the commercial Cargo, have made it to Australia for evaluation. And while the final details are still to be locked in, VW Australia has said the two will be in dealerships by the middle of 2024.

“The business case is fundamentally approved, it’s really the technical elements that are going through the process of being signed off now,” explained Ryan Davies, VW Australia commercial vehicles director. “We are anticipating that will come to us, hopefully before Christmas. It’s a bit of a staged approach, once we get that technical tick of approval, then the next challenge will be availability of production.”

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Despite the arrival of the cars, Volkswagen is still dealing with huge international demand for the new electric people mover and delivery van. More than 20,000 orders have already been taken, effectively accounting for all short-term supply and leaving the Australian launch for another 18 months.

Despite this and the impending arrival of the likes of the Ford eTransit and eTransit Custom and Mercedes-Benz EQV and eVito, Mr Davies has no concerns that Volkswagen is in any danger of ‘missing the boat’ for the ID.Buzz range.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “The ramp up curve for any new product takes time and we know that there’s going to be some 40,000 vans sold in the market every year. It’s our job to come in and take a good slice of that market. I don’t see we’ve missed the opportunity at all, I think we’ll capitalise when we’re available.”

Volkswagen is reportedly targeting annual production of up to 130,000 ID.Buzz models by 2024, which should mean ample supply for local customers when the launch comes.

As previously revealed, the ID.Buzz pair ride on the MEB platform, with a rear-mounted 150kW electric motor powered by an 82kWh lithium-ion battery (with 77kWh of usable energy).

The five-seat ID.Buzz will be equipped to appeal to families, with a variety of colour choices, including the two-tone look of the first example in Australia. There’s also the option of a white or black interior, plus a two-tone look if you want to match the exterior.

The ID.Buzz and Cargo will be in dealerships by mid 2024.

The Cargo will be offered as either a two- or three-seater, with an optional middle seat. Volkswagen Australia is also working to introduce a new ‘flexi-seat’ system about to be introduced in Europe, which adds a second row to the Cargo but folds up to create a barrier when you need to take a load.

With the single-row seat layout, VW claims the rear load area is large enough to fit to Euro pallets and the side door is wide enough to fit one Euro pallet in.

In addition to the extra seating, VW commercial vehicles in Australia are aiming to offer the same sort of customisation it does for its Transporter locally. Which means businesses will be able to add unique rear elements to the back of the ID.Buzz depending on their specific needs. 

Volkswagen is targeting annual production of up to 130,000 ID.Buzz models by 2024.

And this will only be the beginning for the ID.Buzz in Australia, with the local operation confirming it is planning to add the long-wheelbase seven-seat version as well as all-wheel drive and larger battery options. Also expected is a sporty version that will wear the ‘GTX’ badge, already seen on the ID.4 and ID.5 models.

And that’s not all VW commercial vehicles have planned for the coming years. Mr Davies also confirmed that after the Amarok arrives in April 2023 and the ID.Buzz in mid-2024, a new Transporter will hit local showrooms by early 2025. This is the second product of the joint-venture between Ford and Volkswagen to develop commercial vehicles.

A new-generation T7 Multivan is also on the agenda, and could land in 2025 to offer an internal combustion powered alternative to the ID.Buzz and was described as a “critical piece” of the commercial operations future plans in Australia.